Work

A Qualitative Study on Variation in the Written Argumentation of Finnish Final‐Stage Undergraduate Students

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: ABSTRACT Higher education students need generic skills such as written argumentation to succeed in their studies and in modern working life. However, research has shown that some students struggle with these skills even at later stages of higher education. We examined Finnish final‐stage undergraduate students' argumentative texts ( n = 200). Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse the quality of written argumentation and its variation between students representing different higher education sectors (universities and universities of applied sciences). There was notable variation in the quality of written argumentation, distributed differently between the two higher education sectors. Overall, the quality of written argumentation was higher among university students. The practical implications of this are considered.

Source: Higher Education Quarterly

DOI: 10.1111/hequ.70118

Authors: Kaisa Silvennoinen, Miika Marttunen, Heidi Hyytinen, Jani Ursin

Institutions: University of Jyväskylä, University of Eastern Finland

Language: English

Topic: Discourse Analysis in Language Studies

Subfield: Literature and Literary Theory

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Quality education

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $2,900